In this commemorative year Austria’s national holiday on 26 October was celebrated with a great party. The 50th anniversary of the Austrian neutrality and of the federal army were in the limelight of the celebrations. According to official estimates, about 1.1 million visitors attended the event. As much as 700,000 people lined Ringstraße, the avenue surrounding Vienna’s historic city centre, where the largest military parade in the history of the Second Republic was staged. About 4,200 soldiers, 180 tanks and more than 600 vehicles were presented. 100 helicopters and planes, among them four Eurofightes (borrowed for the time being), participated in an “air meeting”.
Moreover, the four signatory powers of the State Treaty and the EU Member States presented a flag parade to the guests of honour and their hosts, Federal President Heinz Fischer and Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel.
Thousands of interested people visited the renovated Parliament, including the modern visitors’ centre and the adjoining Palais Epstein, now housing parliamentary offices. ■

On Austria’s national holiday the political parties expressed their joint commitment to the Austrian neutrality. Federal President Heinz Fischer stated that the neutrality had proven very valuable.
At a special session of the Council of Ministers, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel recalled 26 October 1955, when the Federal Constitutional Act enshrining Austria’s ever-lasting neutrality had been adopted by the Nationalrat (1st chamber of Parliament). “The neutrality of our country has become an important element for Austria’s self-conception and its role in the community of nations. The core of this neutrality remains intact. Austria does not participate in any wars, prohibits the deployment of foreign troops on the Austrian territory and does not accede to military alliances“, said Schüssel.
The neutrality concept had of course further developed in the course of time. Austria had become a member and seat of the United Nations, hosts the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and joined the EU ten years ago. “However, we have always acted in the framework of international peace efforts based on solidarity“, emphasised the Chancellor.
Vice-Chancellor Hubert Gorbach described the Neutrality Act as the “basis of Austria’s economic progress” after WWII. Chairman of the Austrian Social Democrats (SPÖ) Alfred Gusenbauer pointed out that the neutrality had protected Austria against “military adventures of all sorts”. Head of the Greens Alexander Van der Bellen said that the status of neutrality had even improved over the past ten years. Chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) Heinz-Christian Strache warned against “disposing of neutrality”. ■

Rejecting the classification of Belgian economic researcher André Sapir, who prepared comparative studies on the European social models commissioned by incumbent Council President Tony Blair, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stated that Austria formed part of the Scandinavian social model. Sapir had put Austria into the category “inefficient Continental model” with a wide range of social services financed mainly from incidental wage costs, strong employee protection and trade unions playing a major role (in contrast to the British model). In this system it had also become problematic to finance pensions due to the ageing of society.
In an interview with the daily “Die Presse“ (29 October 2005), Schüssel clarified that the relevant Austrian benchmarks, e.g. growth, em-ployment and the number of unemployed, were at least as favourable as those of the “Anglo-Saxon” and “Nordic” models favoured by the study authors. Thus “Austria formed part of the Scandinavian model offering both dynamic growth and a high level of social security”, said the Federal Chancellor. Schüssel stressed that Austria’s development towards the Scandinavian model was reflected in the fact that in Austria the share of social expenditure was significantly above the average of the Scandinavian countries, while the overall tax ratio had dropped. ■

“Let’s roll up our sleeves“ – this had to be the motto of the Austrian EU Presidency in the first six months of 2006, said Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel at the “Europe Matinee” of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) on 6 November 2005. Besides the Austrian Chancellor, European Commission Vice- President Günter Verheugen, Germany’s Minister Designate of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble, Chairman of the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) Alfred Gusenbauer and Carinthian Governor Jörg Haider participated in the discussion on economic policies held in the sumptuous Hall of Muses at Vienna’s Albertina.
With regard to employment it was important not to make “hollow promises“. “We can agree on some major issues which will definitely be implemented, with fixed schedules, a lot of energy and mutual control“, stated Schüssel. Full employment remained a priority. ■

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer conducted talks on the cooperation between the European Union and NATO with Federal Chancellor Schüssel and Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik in Vienna on 3 November 2005. With a view to the forthcoming Austrian EU Presidency, De Hoop Scheffer underlined the paramount importance of a strategic partnership between the EU and NATO. He praised Austria’s engagement on the Balkans and in Afghanistan. Austria played an “important role in the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace“, stated the NATO Secretary General. ■

The success of the European unification process had surpassed the most daring expectations of Winston Churchill, explained Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel in a traditional speech named after the former British Prime Minister delivered at Zurich University on 2 November 2005. Against the background of the end of WWII, Churchill had emphasised “Europe’s tragedy” in his speech in Zurich in 1946. Schüssel now called for more “courage and leadership” in the European integration policy even if not everything was “perfect”. The Federal Chancellor expects “enormous impetus” to the future of the European Union from investments in research and infrastructure.
As far as future enlargement rounds were concerned, it was vital to define the borders of Europe as well as to discuss values, acceptance and the Union’s capacity of integration. ■

Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Ergogan on the sidelines of the informal EU summit in Hampton Court near London (27 October 2005). Both sides stressed the good bilateral relations.
After the EU summit, the Chanellor explained that the EU heads of state and government had unanimously advocated that an agreement about EU finances should be reached still in December. Concrete European answers to globalisation, the top item on the agenda of the Hampton Court meeting, would have to be discussed under the Austrian Presidency. “For all that a solution will have to be found under the Austrian Presidency“, said Schüssel. These issues included agriculture, foreign policy, research and energy. ■

The statements of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel were “completely unacceptable. Israel’s right of existence may not be called into question“, stated Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik on 27 October 2005. ■

Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik participated in the event “Thank you Switzerland” in Bern on 4 November 2005. The charity organisation “Schweizer Kinderhilfe“ was commemorated, which had invited 35,000 undernourished Austrian children to Switzerland between 1945 and 1955. On the occasion of this anniversary year, Plassnik extended Austria’s official thanks to Switzerland. ■

With 4,224 immediately available vacancies for apprentices, a significant increase in apprenticeship places was registered in late October. The difference between training places and applicants dropped to under 3,500. One year ago there had still been a gap of 6,000. This has recently been announced by the Economic Chamber Austria (WKÖ), the Labour Market Service (AMS) and the Workers’ Chamber (AK). An important reason was the so-called “Blum bonus“ introduced on 1 September 2005. Companies taking on more apprentices than in the previous year receive 400 euro monthly per additional apprentice. In the second year of apprenticeship training the bonus amounts to 200 euro, in the third year to 100 euro. In addition, a tax credit of 1,000 euro per apprentice is granted.
The planned duration of the project named after the government’s “apprenticeship officer” Egon Blum is one year. According to the AMS, 6,000 companies have applied for this bonus in Austria. Financial resources of 15.6 million euro have been earmarked for this measure. This amount will be increased if necessary.
A new intensive campaign has been launched to integrate the current total of about 1,500 long-term unemployed young people (jobless for more than six months) into the labour market, announced WKÖ President Christoph Leitl and AMS boss Herbert Buchinger. The new programme starting on 1 December 2005 is based on the method of “accompanying placement”, which has been conceived for customers with whom traditional tools have not been successful. Social workers will be available to provide support in job interviews and to assist the client during the first months of a new job. ■

More than 5,500 entrepreneurs and managers from all over the world participated in the World Congress of Junior Chamber International (JCI) held at Austria Center (Vienna) from 24 to 30 October 2005. The JCI is a global association of young entrepreneurs and executives, with 200,000 members in more than 110 countries. In Austria there are more than 2,000 JCI members. The organisation’s objective is to promote and train young entrepreneurs. According to the organisers, the “JCI World Congress“ is the world’s largest economic networking and contact platform.
This was the first time the congress was held in Austria. “A huge success for Austria. Outside Eastern Asia, where the organisation is traditionally the strongest, the most successful congress in the history of JCI has taken place in this city”, said congress director Wolfgang Winkler. This record participation had not even been achieved in the USA. “We have presented Austria as a dynamic business location to the world and as a springboard to the booming regions in Eastern Europe”, Rainer Ribig, federal chairman of the Austrian JCI organisation “Junge Wirtschaft”, summarised the highly favourable results.
One major priority of the congress was corporate social responsibility (CSR), the commitment of enterprises to socially responsible action. By solemnly signing the “Vienna CSR Treaty“ sustainable economic management based on social standards was generally agreed on. ■

In the framework of preparing Austria’s EU Presidency, Minister for Economic Affairs Martin Bartenstein met with Labour Minister Gerard Larcher and Minister of Industry Francois Loos in Paris on 2 November 2005. “France’s recent initiative to create a network of industrial and research clusters is in line with the Austrian Presidency’s priority of strengthening competitiveness“, said Bartenstein after the meeting.
Together with France Austria wanted to examine the role of “clusters”, i.e. economic, research and educational networks, in boosting Europe’s competitiveness and to present successful models such as the Automobile Cluster Styria. ■

The new plant of the Upper Austrian aircraft components supplier Fischer Advanced Composite Components (FACC) will be built in Reichenberg (Upper Austria). 250 jobs will be created. ■

On 5 November 2005 the State Opera Museum was inaugurated by Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, Vienna State Opera director Ioan Holender, Director General of the Vienna Museum of Art History (KMH) Wilfried Seipel, and CEO of Siemens Austria Albert Hochleitner. The event was followed by the festive concert “50th anniversary of re-opening” at Vienna State Opera, which was screened live at Herbert von Karajan square with the support of Siemens Austria. Vienna State Opera and the confectionery and catering service Gerstner offered free sausages and tea to the audience. The new Café Oper Wien at Karajan square was also opened on this occasion. In March 1945 the Vienna State Opera had been destroyed in a bomb attack. On 5 November 1955 the opera house had been officially reopened with a “Musikfest“, where the then opera manager Karl Böhm conducted Beethoven's freedom opera “Fidelio“. ■

Under the aegis of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is being prepared by the International Tele-communication Union (ITU). Representatives of about 150 countries – economic leaders, UN delegates, representatives of the civil society and media – will gather in Tunis between 16 and 18 November 2005 to adopt measures to develop the information society. During the World Summit the Federal Ministries and various Austrian companies will present themselves at the “Austrian e-Content Village” with a 120-m2 exhibition surface. Austria will show innovative solutions for the new media, which can be used worldwide, in the framework of the international “ICT4all“ exhibition accompanying the World Summit in Tunis. With best practices presentations, workshops, content forums and networking events, the “ICT4all“ exhibition will demonstrate approaches to meet the objective of providing all people with access to high-quality digital information around the globe. After having promoted quality content already in the preliminaries of the UN summit, Austria shows also with its exhibition contribution that initiatives may come from both the public and the private sector. The Federal Chancellery is for example represented with Help.gv.at (“Your Digital Interactive Guide to Austrian Authorities, Digital Austria”), the ICT Strategy and E-go¬vernment Initiative. The delegation to Tunis will be headed by Franz Morak, Secretary of State for the Arts and Media, who announced that Austria would propagate the issue of quality content in the information society at the World Summit as Austria had an enormous potential especially in this area.
A second initiative Austria contributes to the WSIS is the World Summit Award (WSA). This competition for multimedia and e-content products will be presented at the World Summit as Austria’s official project. The WSA offered by the ICNM (International Centre for New Media) had already been one of the most successful events in the first phase of the World Summit in Geneva (2003). It has been planned to grant the award in eight categories, from e-learning and e-culture to e-business. Its aim is to raise awareness of high-quality content. 170 countries will compete for the WSA. ■

Minister of Education Elisabeth Gehrer was awarded the Mother Teresa medal in Tirana (Albania) on 31 October 2005 by President Alfred Moisiu “for her outstanding contribution to the development of education, science and culture in the Republic of Albania” and for the great humanitarian values, which she had shown in her contacts with the country. In a meeting with the Minister, the Albanian President called for intensifying the relations between Tirana and Vienna. Gehrer explained that Austria’s help for Albanian educational institutions had the objective of “improving the conditions in schools and the cooperation at university level”. President Moisiu had paid an official visit to Austria only in early October meeting inter alia with Federal President Heinz Fischer. After his talks with Gehrer, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha reiterated his plans to double the public expenditure on the educational system. Priorities will be teacher training and Internet access for all schools. Moreover, Prime Minister Berisha presented the “Brain Gain“ project to bring back well trained Albanians working at Western universities to their homecountry. Gehrer stated that Austria would continue to support Albania in developing its educational and tourist sectors. The Austrian Minister of Education also attended the opening of the exhibition “Good Morning Balkans“ at the National Art Gallery in Tirana presenting works by artists from South Eastern Europe from Slovenia to Turkey, but also from Germany and Austria. The show has been organised with the support of the Austrian Foreign Ministry. ■

The Austrian Music Fund has recently been set up by the federal government to promote Austrian music productions. 230 projects were filed in response to a first call for proposals. Among the artists selected by the jury are Bauchklang, Broadlahn, Electric Indigo & Mia Zabelka, the Vienna Art Orchestra and Zweitfrau. Conditional subsidies were approved for productions such as 78plus, Dublestandart or Go Blow. Annually 600,000 euro are allocated to the Music Fund, which are granted by the Federal Chancellery as well as institutions of the music industry. The deadline of the second call for proposals ends on 10 December 2005. ■

Since the 1980ies the “superstars“ have been haunting the media, which guarantee global presence. The term is not only used for cinema, music and fashion idols but also artists like Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol, clever PR strategists on their own behalf. The exhibition is also dedicated to the “Bad Boys and Bad Girls“, a group of artists who first became notorious for reversing star images in a provocative way and then became popular themselves. The principle of prominence can also be applied to industrial products like Nike, McDonalds, Coca Cola, which are turned into global emblems – usually with the help of celebrities from sports and the entertainment industry – and which are to fuel consumption by appealing to emotions. Superstars like Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and Michael Jackson are the most visible representatives of a media-dominated and void contemporary society lacking self-assurance and dignity. ■

This year Wien Modern, Austria’s largest contemporary music festival, guides through the oeuvre of Helmut Lachenmann, Beat Furrer and Giacinto Scelsi and features the theme “collective identities“ (ending on 28 November 2005). As a festival within the festival, “Dschungel Wien Modern“ presents international music theatre projects for children and young people until 20 November 2005. Wien Modern 2005 offers 81 events – concerts, music theatre, dance, performance, talks, workshops and symposiums – at 15 selected venues in Vienna and surroundings. The festival founded in 1988 by Claudio Abbado makes Vienna once more a hub of international contemporary music creation. Numerous orchestras, ensembles and artists, which are the crème de la crème in music interpretation and creation, are guests of the Wien Modern festival, e.g. RSO-Wien, Klangforum Wien, the Arditti String Quartet, the chamber ensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Joëlle Léandre, Marianne Schroeder. Works by Luciano Berio, Friedrich Cerha, Brian Ferneyhough, Klaus Lang, Bruno Maderna, Wolfgang Mitterer, Luigi Nono, Wolfram Schurig and others will also be performed. Wien Modern, the festival of the City of Vienna, is supported by the Department for Arts of the Federal Chancellery. KAPSCH AG has earned thanks for sponsoring the festival for many years. ■

The Mozart Year 2006 will also receive financial support from the European Union. An application to subsidise activities related to the Mozart Year in Salzburg, Vienna and Augsburg with a total of 500,000 euro from the EU budget has been approved by an overwhelming majority in the plenary session of the European Parliament on 27 October 2005. As an „overture“ to the festivities, the company in charge of organisation (“Wiener Mozartjahr Organisations-ges.m.b.H.”) has recently issued a guidebook presenting an overview of the events of the entire Mozart Year. ■

The Jewish Film Week was founded in 1991. As Secretary of State for the Arts and Media Franz Morak explains in the present catalogue, it is the intention of the “Austrian Society for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Tradition“ to familiarise the Austrian audience with Jewish culture through the narrative power of the medium film and to counteract xenophobia, intolerance and anti-Semitism. Also this year’s programme (until 17 November 2005) of the Jewish Film Week offers a diversity of topics related to Jewish life and culture. The programme does not only present tributes and the festival’s main themes but also numerous new international feature films and documentaries giving insight into Jewish film creation beyond the mainstream. The selected, controversial films by graduates of Israeli film academies are highly interesting. ■

On the occasion of almost 100 years of the post-office bank – one of the most outstanding achievements of architect Otto Wagner (1841-1918) – BAWAG P.S.K. celebrated the completion of the renovation of the building as well as the opening of the “WAGNER:WERK Museum Postsparkasse“ on 3 November 2005. The festive event was also attended by Federal President Heinz Fischer. In a permanent exhibition about the monumental building housing the Austrian Post-Office Bank, the new museum features one of Austria’s most important architects of the 20th century. The “Small Bank Hall” – converted into the newly founded museum – is again accessible after having been closed to the public for several decades. About 200 historical photos, documents, newspaper reports, plans and inno¬vative designs are presented at WAGNER:WERK Museum Postsparkasse in five exhibition halls with a total surface of 354 m2. The revolutionary banking institution “for the common people” with an architecture anticipating future trends had been founded by Georg Coch. From 2006 onwards special exhibitions will be shown in the “Great Hall”. ■

To usher in the Sigmund Freud Year 2006, the Freud Museum presents “Masterworks from Gugging“ (on show until 28 February 2006). This exhibition offers a selection of 23 works of art by patients of the mental hospital Gugging suffering from psychic disorders, who have outstanding creative talents. In 1990 the artists from Gugging received the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, and after great international success they were also integrated into the Austrian art scene. Today they are considered classics of Art Brut, a term coined by Jean Dubuffet to describe a “crude art” giving an “authentic” impression of people’s innermost feelings. The works of ten artists, e.g. by Johann Fischer, Oswald Tschirtner and August Walla, are displayed. The special show at the Freud Museum – inaugurated by Secretary of State for the Arts Morak – is also a prelude to a series of exhibitions of the Gugging artists, which will culminate in the opening of the new ICC Gugging (Integrative Culture Centrum Gugging) in summer 2006. ■

The festival “The New Austrian Sound of Music“ takes Austria’s most vigorous musical campaign to Berlin. A total of 22 ensembles representing all genres of music – e.g. popular folk music, classical and new music, jazz and pop – will perform on six stages until 9 November 2005. For the first time several institutions have cooperated in the project: the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the Cultural Forum at the Embassy in Berlin, the music information center austria (mica) as well as the Economic Chamber Austria (WKÖ). The festival does not only present artists but also Austrian labels, music marketing companies and promoters.
In the future the “New Austrian Sound of Music” festival will travel each year to a different metropolis. ■

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), Secretary of State for Sports Schweitzer extended his congratulations in Vienna’s art district Museumsquartier (MQ): “The ÖSV headed by Peter Schröcksnadel is the very model of a sport association. Skiing forms part of the Austrian identity. Out winter sport athletes are representing us internationally and strengthen Austria’s positive image“, stressed Schweitzer. The anniversary festivities at MQ were attended by about 900 guests, among them Federal President Fischer and Federal Chancellor Schüssel. In a voyage back in time lasting two hours, an almost 500-page illustrated anniversary volume was presented. The celebrations were concluded with the “photo of the century” with all ÖSV medallists and world cup winners. ■

In the framework of the 19th congress of the International Association of Sports and Leisure Facilities (IASK) and the Trade Fair for Amenity Areas, Sports and Pool Facilities (FSB), various international architecture prizes (IOC/IAKS awards) were granted for sport venues on 26 October 2005. In the category “winter sport facilities” the gorgeous and impressive Bergisel ski jump hill in Innsbruck received the gold medal. The European championship stadium in Wals-Siezenheim (Salzburg) won the bronze medal in the category “sport grounds/stadiums”. For the first time the “special prize for sport facilities suited for the disabled” was granted as a common award by the International Paralympic Committee and IAKS. Two Austrian participants are among the seven prize-winning projects: the sport and leisure facility in Stattegg (Graz/Styria) as well as the glacier cable railway “Hintertuxer Gletscherbahn” (Tyrol). ■

Renate Götschl, Georg Totschnig and the ski jumping team with Wolfgang Loitzl, Andreas Widhölzl, Thomas Morgenstern and Martin Höllwarth became Austria’s “athletes of the year 2005“. This year about 200 sport reporters of Sports Media Austria had been responsible for the decision. President Fischer, Secretary of State Schweitzer and Upper Austrian Governor Pühringer were very impressed by the gala at the Design Centre in Linz. The “Special Award“ went to Andreas Goldberger for his great sport career. The prizes for the best disabled athletes 2005 were conferred on Andrea Scherney and Wolfgang Eibeck. The Special Olympics prize was awarded to Gertrude Slama. ■

In the presence of Secretary of State for Sports Schweitzer and President of the Austrian Ski Association Peter Schröcksnadel, Chancellor Schüssel paid tribute to six Austrian ski sport legends. Pepi Stiegler, Anderl Molterer, Pepi Gramshammer, Klaus Heidegger, Franz Weber and Karl Platter, who were all personally present, were spotlighted as the “ambassadors of Austrian sport”. They were presented a thank-you certificate and an iceberg from crystal glass. ■

Representatives of the municipality, the Land, the Tourism Promotion Fund, the host communities in Pongau and the ÖOC signed the agreement on founding “Bewerbungsgesellschaft „Winterspiele 2014 GmbH“ (the organisation in charge of Austria’s application for the Winter Games 2014). Anton Schutti was appointed managing director. The aim was “to bring the Olympic flame to Salzburg“ and to optimally present Austria at international level.